Love Hasn't Ended
by elude
Summary: Sakura cannot forgot the tragic afternoon at the academy when she left a helpless Uzumaki Naruto behind. When she finds a kitsune-masked ANBU member bleeding in the snow, she will have to face the whispers of the past. — naruxsaku, AU
1. A bird may love a fish

Sakura cannot forgot the tragic afternoon at the academy when she left a helpless Uzumaki Naruto behind. When she finds a kitsune-masked ANBU member bleeding in the rain, she will have to face the whispers of the past. — naruxsaku, AU

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A fish may love a bird, but where would they live? — Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

 **Chapter One:** **A fish may love a bird**

 _Pitter patter pitter patter._

Raindrops drummed against the glass pane of a window layered with dust and dirt, setting a gentle rhythm occasionally interrupted by the soft crackling of thunder somewhere far away.

It was with an idle gaze that the pink-haired kunoichi watched the brewing storm outside her apartment. With her elbow resting on the countertop and her cheek cupped firmly against her palm, her face remained impassive. A couple of times, her eyes would close completely only for them to flutter open whenever the dimly lit kitchen became filled with sudden flashes of lighting.

She stood diligently next to the oven, standing on a foam mat that would lessen the punishment on her heels for standing so long in the same spot. The birthday cake had been baking inside the oven for the past thirty minutes. To the kunoichi, it felt like an impossibly long time of doing nothing.

As she exhaled small puffs of steam, a frown slowly emerged on her face. She regretted not buying replacements for the lights in the kitchen when it was still bright out.

 _Ding!_

Her eyes moved to the enclosed compartment of the oven, studying the outline of the small roundish cake at the center. She tugged open the oven and was immediately greeted with a blast of warm air. Taking a clean chopstick off the dishrack, she poked an inconspicuous hole into the side of the cake. None of the dough clung onto the wooden utensil. She pressed the off button on the oven and pulled the cake over to the countertop to cool as she began washing the mixing bowls and measuring cups she used earlier.

Once the dishes were done and set on the rack to dry, she meandered back over to the cake and poked it with her index finger before deeming it decently cooled enough. The cream cheese frosting that took her five tries just so it wouldn't taste like a child's sugar experiment gone wrong was brought out of the refrigerator and delicately applied over the cake.

Stepping off the foam mat, she pitter-pattered over to the cabinets, where the spare boxes were stored and grabbed a large enough box that would be able to contain the cake. Sakura made sure to lift the cake gently from the countertop as she transferred it over to the white box.

As her eyes studied the analog clock that sat all the way at the end of the living room, they widened in panic. It was almost evening and she had yet to leave. Fishing for a plastic bag in one of the drawers next to the sink, she found one that was suitably clean to put the box in. It had the words "Ichiraku Ramen" on the front and smelled a little bit like soy sauce, but it would have to do.

She shuffled into her sandals hastily and pulled the straps of the bag around her fingers as she dashed out the doorway. As she exited her apartment, it was almost as if she had stepped into a different dimension. The colors of the outside world were washed away by the endless rain. Buildings became obscure figures in the background while people dashed frantically from rooftop to rooftop. She could hear little besides the soft rustling of leaves in the wind and the dull pounding of raindrops against pavement.

The downpour of rain was slowly driving the kunoichi insane. She felt every drop of water that landed on her hair and slid down her neck and arms. In hindsight, she should have known better and brought an umbrella _before_ she ran out of her house unwittingly.

Sakura clutched the plastic bag closer to her chest, hoping her gesture would prevent the cake from getting wet. From the corner of her eyes, she watched as a trio of guys ran pass her in haste to get out of the rain. Meanwhile, she was running _into_ the storm.

Murky puddles formed on the gravel path she walked on, making the small pebbles on the road even more slippery than normal. Twice she almost stepped into a puddle of muddy water, except she managed to sidestep at the last moment. It took around twice as long for her to reach the other end of town.

Really, if she had only been intelligent enough to bring an umbrella with her today. The pink-haired kunoichi sighed lightly as she peeked at the bag. Her tight grip was doing wonders in keeping the cake dry. Only a few more steps to go, she told herself. Then she would be out of the rain.

The apartment complex she was heading towards soon came in view. It was an old structure that looked as if it was built decades ago. The paint was constantly peeling off, and just last summer, when Sakura climbed up the stairs, she suffered a panic attack. One of the wooden steps was apparently rotten, so when she placed her weight on it, the wooden plank snapped. If she wasn't a ninja, she wouldn't have landed as gracefully as she did.

She approached the building with an increased enthusiasm until she was underneath the roof tiles. Rain still managed to slip through the cracks, but it was better than nothing. She climbed the usual set of stairs, hearing the familiar creak of wood as she walked up each step.

 _Creak creak creak._ The sound was oddly relaxing, even though it was a stark reminder that any of the steps could break under her weight at any moment.

Once she reached the second floor, she stepped into the hallway. It wasn't a dim area normally, but with the sun out of commission and only gray clouds in the sky, the place looked a lot more sinister than Sakura would have liked.

 _Uzumaki Naruto._

It was almost as if his very presence was permanently etched within the walls. If she turned around, it felt as if he might just jump out of the darkness to stab her in the back. Her fingers tightened around the plastic bag as she forced herself to take a deep breath and remind herself that the last time she checked, Uzumaki Naruto had yet to make the news headline as a serial killer.

It was fine. Uzumaki would not be at his apartment during this time of the day. He was generally not in his apartment _at all_ during the day. The most normal assumption would be that he was working a normal day job, but she still couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling every time she visited his apartment that she might be visiting a murderer.

His windows were covered by a combination of newspapers and black plastic trash bags, so that no one would be able to look inside and see what he was up to or if he was even home. The doorbell right of his door had long been ripped off and had yet to be replaced. On the center of the door, there was the faint imprint of "221". The brass numbers were also gone. It was clear. He really didn't want any visitors.

Unhooking the plastic strap of the bag from her hands, she realized she had to pull the bag from her fingers. There were angry looking welts where the handle of the bag had been. She chafed her fingers gently to ease back some of the blood.

Then she turned back to the door of Uzumaki's apartment to look for a suitable hiding spot for his birthday cake. She needed to find a place where both his snooping neighbors and the tabby cat that roamed around the alleyway wouldn't find it. After studying the worn down complex for a few seconds, she came to the conclusion that there was no suitable spot and if there was one, she would have found it on the numerous times she came over to leave something.

It was going to be the usual trick. She rounded to the back of the second floor of the complex until she was all the way at the empty space in the back that was enclosed by three walls. The tenants tended to leave reusable things such as boxes and old furniture here. Without any lights, the sounds of even her smaller movements seemed louder than usual. It was decidedly creepy by the kunoichi, and she wanted to get away as soon as possible. It meant grabbing the first decent cardboard box she found and dashing back to Uzumaki's apartment.

Putting the box originally meant to hold oranges over the cake, she messily scribbled his name on top of the box right below the words "Konoha Oranges, Fresh as it can get!" Then, after thinking on it for a few seconds, she wrote "happy birthday, thanks for being born".

From the corner of her eyes, she peered past the balcony and into the rain. It was back in the stormy weather for this pink-haired kunoichi, she thought. While she wasn't looking eager for the return trip home, it was certainly better than remaining on Uzumaki's turf past normal day hours.

Descending down the flight of stairs, her heart nearly stopped at the sight of a boy in a hooded sweater walking her way. Then, as the boy took off his hood and revealed his lack of blond hair, Sakura heaved a sigh of relief. _That_ was definitely cutting it close and considering her proximity to Uzumaki's home, the chances of her meeting him was much too high for her comfort.

As she stepped off the last step and onto the pavement, she felt significantly better. Even after all these years of sneaking over to Uzumaki's apartment to leave little gifts, she still felt guilty every time she visited. There was no fixing the...incident. In a way, visiting his place served as a constant reminder of what she owed him.

It always left her with in uneasy feeling that dug at her appetite. Because, in the end, Sakura knew she had a terrible personality because why else would she have left him alone while she fled like a coward.

With such dark thoughts, she opened her mouth to breath, but stopped when she tasted the rain in her lips. If she didn't hurry up, she'd be caught out in a bigger storm with the luck she had. Normally, she wouldn't have ventured out in the rain and would have dropped off whatever it was whenever she got another chance.

It just had to be Uzumaki's cake day. Sakura didn't know his actual birthday, but she based it off the date he'd written down back when he was still attending the academy. She doubted he knew the actual date as well. After all, if the rumors about him were correct, he was an orphan with unknown parents. The nurses at the orphanage chose the dates in those cases (usually when the day the child was brought there).

She was almost near the corner of the block when the sight of Uzumaki Naruto caused the kunoichi to freeze in her step. He was walking down the same street she was heading towards, only in the opposite direction. The blond was in a black and orange jacket and pair of shinobi pants.

 _No forehead protector._ As far as she remembered, he had only been in the Academy for one month before the bullying got too severe. _Before that day happened._ The boy was pulled away from the school. Sakura thought he would be back the next day, but he was ultimately sent elsewhere. It made Sakura sick just thinking about it.

Natural instincts kicked in, causing Sakura to avert her eyes towards a particularly grimey looking puddle filled with soggy looking napkins. She clenched her fists and exhaled before bringing her hand up awkwardly to catch his attention.

"H-Hi, I haven't seen you in years, Uzumaki-san," she wanted to say, except no sound escaped her lips. With a nervous smile gracing her lips that would rival the Hyuuga heiress, Sakura tried her best to pull her eyes away from the puddle. However, upon looking up, whatever shy state she was in disappeared once she saw the nasty cuts that marred his arms and face. His knuckles in particular were bloodied while there was a nasty bruise forming on his left cheek, right below the faint whiskers the other kids made fun of when he was younger. It looked like he had been in some kind of fight.

What was he doing with his life? For a moment, Sakura felt anger at the boy for seemingly treating his body so carelessly by getting himself injured. Then she remembered she was part of the reason he didn't become a ninja and promptly felt shame. She wondered if he had enough money to get his injuries checked at the hospital and if he would be willing to let a novice medic like her take a closer examination at his wounds. Instead, what she blurted out was scolding and not what she intended. "You're bleeding! Why the hell did you get in a fight?"

The blond stopped mid-step, his sandal hovering over a miniature puddle that had formed underneath the broken roof of one of the neighborhood's homes. If he wasn't staring at her before, he was now. A pair of blue eyes blinked in surprise before they honed in on her expression. Then, the boy gingerly pointed to himself as if asking a question to Sakura. "I guess there's no one else but me here huh…" Sakura had a feeling the words were more to himself than to her with the softness invoked in his tone.

"You should get your wounds checked at a hospital. Come on, I'll take you," she said with a much more gentle tone. Stepping forward and momentarily forgetting her fear, she reached out to grab his wrist. Surprise painted her jade eyes when cold fingers seized her wrist instead. She had not anticipated he would have such fast reflexes.

"I'm fine. Thank you for your concern though," he said, his voice much deeper than she imagined his voice to be now that he was sixteen instead of six.

While his hold wasn't hostile, it was much firmer than she'd expected an academy dropout to possess. She held her ground, meeting his cool gaze with her stubborn one. "I know you don't want to see or have anything to do with me, but putting a strong front won't help you." She meant to say "but please let me help you" but the other words fell out of her lips instead.

There was a slight tear in his shirt. He cleared his throat, effectively bringing her attention back to his face. She wondered if he was mad, considering they were virtually strangers and the first thing she did was scold him for getting into a fight and not being a ninja when he was practically kicked out of the Academy.

In the distant, she could hear the howling wind blow through the section of the neighborhood the two were standing in. Her legs felt clammy. It was almost suffocating to be next to Uzumaki Naruto, who was probably preparing his long-awaited speech on how much he hated her as a person.

 _Stop shaking,_ she told herself as she clenched both of her hands. Raindrops continuously dripped onto her head as clumps of pink hair stuck to her forehead. Crashing into Uzumaki was bound to happen, if she made visits to his apartment. Now that she was here though, she wanted more than to run away like she did the first time.

She didn't. Instead, she said, "It's still not too late to become a ninja, Uzu—"

He took a step forward, effectively shutting away her thoughts, as he got uncomfortably close. Sakura's heart skipped a beat. For a moment, she wondered if he was just going to ignore her and walk away. However, her hopes were dashed when he continued to hold her wrist and stare curiously in her direction.

Was he going to physically punch her instead? She was prepared for it, welcomed it even if it would make him feel better, but instead, he just stood perfectly still. Then finally, he opened his mouth and very quietly, told her "Today's the anniversary of an important person's death. Sorry, but I'd like to be alone."

Sakura blinked away the raindrops from her eyes. Before she had time to process his words, he looked down towards her with a simple grin. While there was a hint of sadness in his eyes, there was no malice. "You changed since then, Sakura-chan."

"Uzumaki—"

The blond took off his battered jacket and draped it across her shoulders and over her head. The smile was gone from his face and just like that, he looked like the intimidating boy she imagined him to be. Giving her a brief wave, he continued down the gravel path until his shadow disappeared around the corner.

It was only later when Sakura was back in her apartment and taking a hot shower, she realized Naruto's eyes were slightly red. Maybe it was not only the rain running down his face. She also washed his jacket and stored it away, intending to return it to him someday.

In the morning, she found herself visiting Uzumaki's apartment again. She told herself it was because the boy had wounds that were not going to heal overnight. However, when she rang the doorbell, no one came out to unlock the door for her. She was disappointed, because even if he did not want to get his wounds treated at the hospital, she could disinfect them for him.

She sighed. It figured he'd be out during the day, like always. She was able to turn away when she noticed a small blue note slipped in between the metal bars of the door.

"Neko-chan, I have no treats for you today," said Sakura to the orange tabby cat lounging lazily between the note and her. Yellow eyes stared back at her before they finally closed again. Apparently, the stray cat had deemed her to be benign. She reached over to where the note was, hoping not to scare away the cat. The first thing Sakura noticed was the messily scribbled smiley, right where Naruto wrote his name.

Hey! My beautiful or handsome stalker-san,

You've been sending me cakes

on September 4th for the past eight years

so I thought you should know —

my birthday is on October 10th.

Thanks for the cake, though! It was

delicious.

Uzumaki Naruto

PS: It's difficult for me to continue

receiving gifts from a stranger, as

nice as the gesture is. Maybe we

can meet someday for food? It'll

be my treat!

She read the note carefully, confusion grappling at her emotions when he revealed quite bluntly that she had mistakenly sent him a birthday on the wrong day _and_ month. Sakura's memory was one of the things she was proud of. She was sure September 10th was the date Naruto wrote down during the academy days.

Of course, it was entirely possible that he had lied about it. Given his prankster nature back in the academy, Sakura wouldn't have put it past the blond to write a random date down. Despite herself, the pink haired kunoichi laughed at herself for falling for the six-year old's pranks still.

Her laughter subsided as she reached the end of the note. She wasn't sure if revealing her identity would have been wise, given their less than savory history together. Tucking the note in her pocket, she rapidly descended the stairs. A response was on the tip of her tongue. She could very easily explain that she did not wish to be known and that she'd just stop visiting from now on.

However, the lonely look in his eyes early made her give pause. And of all things to mistaken, she had to congratulate him on his "birthday" on the anniversary of the death of an important person. It was cruel and in the end, her doing. If she was Naruto, she would have flung the cake out.

The thoughts were enough to quiet the kunoichi on her way in Konoha. For once, instead of hoping she'd not have to see Naruto, her eyes would glance around and look for a tuft of blond hair. However, he was nowhere to be seen like always. If he had not grabbed her wrist, Sakura might have thought she dreamed the encounter up.

Either way, she rushed over to the Konoha hospital to begin her shift. As nice as it was to walk around with the sun out, she still needed to make enough money to pay the rent.

"Child, did something happen?" The voice caused Sakura snap out of her thoughts. She smiled apologetically to where the old woman was, returning back to her business of updating the woman's medical history. Glancing briefly at the report, Sakura noticed the old woman was in here for overworking. Again.

"With that solemn look, you won't be attracting any boys," chided the old lady.

Sakura mustered a smile. "Fusako baa-san, you're embarrassing me."

The old woman waved a dismissive hand in the kunoichi's direction. "Nonsense, you're a beautiful girl. Any guy who doesn't realize this is missing out."

Sakura's smile widened by a fraction as she realized what the old lady thought she was worried about. Boy troubles. Though, it would be more accurate if she was back as her twelve year old. "I was actually thinking about a—" She hesitated as she rattled her brains for an appropriate word to describe Naruto. "A childhood friend."

"That kind of romance is the best," said the old lady with an agreeable voice, to which Sakura responded with a resigned sigh. "Okay, okay. What are you worried about, child?"

Sakura thought back to the wounds on Naruto's body and the solemn expression on his face when he walked away. She frowned. "...A strange feeling I can't explain." As she stared out the window, she couldn't help but notice that the landscape was just as monochrome as yesterday and in some cases, even worse. There was a higher concentration of gray clouds in the sky, signalling that a storm was just around the corner.

"I just think something bad is about to happen."


	2. Fate without destiny

Thank you for everybody who reviewed! It really means a lot to me to see what you guys think about my story, considering I haven't written fanfiction in years. In this chapter, more of the world and characters are being set up, but I promise it'll get more exciting soon! Also, "Kitsune" makes an appearance, if you know what I mean ;).

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"It takes hundreds of rebirths to bring two persons to ride in the same boat, and it takes a thousand eons to bring two persons to share the same pillow." — Chinese Proverb on "Yuanfen"

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 **Chapter Two:** **Fate without Destiny**

From where the pink-haired kunoichi stood, she could see the fourth and third Hokage's faces. The afternoon sun shone on the rock monument as well as the glass window. There was a strong glare that prevented Sakura from getting a better view of the entire village. Her eyes glanced at Tsunade, who was still rummaging through the paperwork that would grant time off for Sakura. That is, if the vacation plans were approved. Ever since the Sound invasion, the amount of work increased. Sakura had rarely sought out time for herself until recently, when Ino insisted the two of them head to one of the local shrines outside of Konoha.

"There's a spot for hot springs. We need to go," Ino declared, when she found out about it from one of her clients. Sakura, though she was reluctant at first, soon found herself entertaining the idea. It had been too long since she stepped out of Konoha for leisure, which was why she was starting to get nervous when Tsunade remained quiet for the past ten minutes.

Sakura had never gotten approval for a vacation before, so she didn't have a lot of knowledge on how to apply for one. As she looked at the Hokage with apprehension, she wondered if she filled out one of the forms incorrectly. She watched as Tsunade paused to look at one form for a few seconds longer than the other forms before scribbling a few indiscernible words on it.

It was no wonder why so little people took vacations, considering the hassle it took to even get one approved. Her hospital shifts had to be rearranged such that other medics could take over. When planning out ninjas for missions, Tsunade would have to account for the fact that she'd be one pink-haired apprentice short.

Sakura stared particularly hard at a corner on the ceiling. It was the same corner she looked at whenever she had to stand for long periods of time at the Hokage's office. While the particularly spot was never truly interesting, it served as a good distraction.

"Oi, the Godaime is meeting with someone right now!"

She blinked, looking in the direction of Tsunade. However, the older woman didn't seem to notice the outburst from outside. Her eyes were trained on the documents her disciple had brought.

"Did you listen to a thing I heard?" The voice sounded indignant and Sakura could hear a pair of resounding footsteps in the hallway outside. Someone was coming, and it didn't seem like they cared about being subtle in the slightest.

"Kitsune, you idiot, someone's—

The door slammed open, revealing an individual wearing a white porcelain mask and an ANBU-uniform. "Kitsune" or at least what the guard called the person, stood at the entrance of the doorway. Kitsune's eyes were covered, so it wasn't like Sakura could see the person's face, but she swore she could feel an inquisitive stare behind the mask. She looked at the ANBU member with her own questioning stare. If he wanted to interrupt her meeting with the Tsunade, she wasn't going to back down so easily.

To her surprise, the ANBU member strolled up to the Hokage's desk and bowed.

"Brat, did you finally learn some manners?" Tsunade's nonchalant voice rolled off from behind the desk. The woman hadn't even bothered to look up at the ANBU member. Sakura supposed this was Tsunade attempt at more authoritative; the council members always seemed to be finding faults in her somehow. However, it only caused the ANBU member to direct all of his attention to Sakura in return. She didn't know why. It wasn't her fault Kitsune was getting the cold treatment from Tsunade. People who showed up at the Hokage's office without an appointment were generally not well-received.

Almost as if Kitsune could read Sakura's thoughts, the ANBU member's attention drifted over to her. Though Sakura could not read expressions through masked faces, the traditionally painted porcelain face was enough to unsettle her. She forced herself to look back, though the exchange only happened for a few seconds. Kitsune turned away from her without saying a single word and walked back outside.

"He's an idiot. Ignore him, Sakura," advised Tsunade, whose voice brought the pink-haired kunoichi's attention back over to the Hokage's desk. Her tone was not disapproving, causing Sakura to wonder just how well the older women knew the ANBU member.

"That ANBU member?" Sakura tried to keep the interest out of her tone, but she was curious why he was able to waltz into Tsunade's office like he owned the tower without being thrown out. The last time Danzo tried this, the Hokage threatened to have him limping back to "wherever the hell he came from."

Tsunade simply sighed and shook her head, "So, where are you planning to go?"

"Ino wanted to to visit Kunlun. I heard the village is a sacred ground that houses the Inari shrine and is nestled deep within the mountains, just like Konoha," said Sakura, who thought back on her conversation with the other kunoichi. There were many things Ino told her, probably to entice Sakura into going, but she remembered one line that seemed to do the opposite. "In addition, she said 'When you're in the forest, make sure to be extra attentive to all the living creatures. I heard even stepping on a spider can get you into a lot of trouble-so watch out.'"

Her mentor raised an eyebrow, her expression mirroring Sakura's when she first heard the sentence. "That sounds like an old wives tale. Where did she hear that?"

Sakura remained silent before she finally spoke up. "I think she said a villager who had business in Konoha told her." Truthfully, Sakura thought it just made the place sound rural and superstitious, but Ino wanted to go.

In the older women's hands sat a stapled set of papers. She smiled at the girl. "Your vacation has been approved. Have fun. You deserved it for all the hard work you've done."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," said Sakura, internally celebrating at her little victory as she found herself smiling widely. With that business done, she turned around, pulled the door handle, and walked out.

The hallway was dimly lit compared to the office, but Sakura was used to this area. She was the Hokage's apprentice, after all. She was about to use the usual route to exit the Hokage tower, but she realized Kitsune was leaning against the wall adjacent to the pathway leading to the exit.

Sakura's face remained neutral. There was no reason to be intimidated by the ANBU member, considering the two of them were in the same village and thus comrades and the fact that prior to this event, she had never even seen Kitsune to offend him enough to pose a threat to her. Yet as she studied the cruel red markings around his mask that seemed to give it a sinister look, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable around his presence. His folded arms, which were casually resting against his chest, and his leaning pose seemed to give the impression he was judging her somehow.

Now Sakura was more than convinced her mind was making this up. She walked past the kitsune-masked ninja, almost believing he was going to stab her with a kunai at any moment. Except he continued to lean against the railing of the wall and didn't even look once in her direction. Perhaps she imagined the ordeal back at the office after all.

"You can meet the Hokage now," said one of the guards. It was only at this prompting did Kitsune stand up straight and walk into the office.

Once she walked past the flight of stairs, she was greeted by the outside light. She was back in the village. As she walked past the ramen stand, she yawned and wiped the tears that formed. Paperwork-aside, she had other worries. Yesterday night had been plagued with nonsensical dreams about blond-haired boys telling her she failed at _something_. Whatever that meant.

"Sakura, did you get it approved?" Ino's voice cut through the monotone of the market chitchat. The kunoichi approached Sakura after maneuvering through some heavy foot traffic. Sakura guessed it was near lunchtime now.

Sakura nodded, "Yes, Tsunade-sama has granted me permission to leave Konoha to take some time-off."

"I'm sure you'll like the spot." With a grin, Ino formed a fist with her right hand and punched Sakura's shoulder lightly. "Ah...do you mind if Hinata comes with us? She overheard me talking about in the morning, but she'll be a few days late if she comes. I didn't say okay yet because I wasn't sure how you'd feel about having an extra body."

"I don't mind. She's a shy girl so it must have taken her a lot of courage to ask," said Sakura with a smile.

"Great! I'll tell her after I get back from training. Asuma-sensei scheduled a meeting right during lunch," said Ino, whose expression changed appropriately to being resigned. "At least Chouji will be sure to give him a piece of his mind…"

As Sakura waved and watched the fleeting shadow of her friend fade in the distance, she couldn't help but feel slightly jealous. She wished her team was still together, even for a bit. She slapped her cheeks gently. "Those are dangerous thoughts, Sakura. Get a hold of yourself."

Though the marketplace was filled with delicious smells that wafted through her nose, she realized she had no appetite at the moment and made the decision to turn back to her apartment. Her footsteps were nearly silent against the soft snow that had formed nearly overnight. Above her, a pair of snow robins were perched upon a branch that was lightly dusted with frost.

There was no particular reason, but as she stepped past dango shop, she stopped mid step and stared at her surroundings. The white backdrop of the village with the obscured buildings reminded her of the heavy rains from last month. Turning away from the warmth of the main street, she wandered into one of the smaller streets that led to the old apartment complex with peeling paint where Uzumaki Naruto lived.

The staircase was covered in snow. It looked like the landlord had not bothered with shoveling, even though it was against village regulations. Sakura ascended the stairs, her hand lightly grazing the icy handrail as she reached the second floor. It was just as she remembered it. She walked over to Naruto's apartment. The door handle was still as worn out as before and the windows were still covered by old newspaper. She wondered if he was lonely, and if he had gotten teammates, maybe he would be less lonely. Except she had teammates, but was still lonely.

"You a friend of that kid?"

The voice jostled Sakura from her thoughts, causing her to jump as she turned around to face whoever was talking to her. It was an old lady, who wore a blue apron and a pair of yellow kitchen gloves. She was standing next to the door of the apartment next to Naruto's while holding a green washing bowl filled with uncooked grains of rice.

Sakura blinked. "You mean Uzumaki Naruto?"

The old lady rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath. Drops of rice water fell from her gloves and hit the pavement. Past the door, Sakura could hear the sound of running water inside. "Like there is anyone else in this complex who's a kid."

"Right," said Sakura, except she didn't know if that statement held any truth. She hadn't bothered to learn about any of the other occupants.

"Can you tell your friend to be more quiet when he returns home late? I hear him opening the door at 4 in the morning," said the lady.

"That might be a bit—"

"It wakes my husband up, and he needs to wake up early for his work," said the old lady.

Sakura smiled and hesitantly said, "S-Sure…"

"I wouldn't be pushy normally, but you're the only one who visits him. Great, now that that's done, I need to get back to cooking lunch," said the old lady, as she slammed the door shut.

Sakura sighed. Since she was technically not Naruto's friend, how was she supposed to tell him that? Taking out a small scrap of paper, she hastily scribbled the words "Your neighbor complained you open the door too loudly when you come home during odd hours of the night." She was able to slip the note through the bars of the door before she stopped. She looked at the messy writing before she grabbed her pen again and wrote underneath her original message. "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I hope you spend it happily."

This time, she left the note feeling a bit more satisfied.

* * *

The next two weeks passed by in a haste and before Sakura knew it, she was packing her bags for the trip of the Hot Springs. Unfortunately, on the day she was supposed to meet up with Ino, she was met by the blonde in front of her apartment.

"Ino? I thought we were going to meet by the gates at 7," said Sakura as she wiped the remaining drops of water on her recently washed hair.

Ino wasn't smiling. "ANBU captured a prime suspect related to the Sound attack on our village."

"What? The Sound attack was three years ago…"

"My dad is still at the hospital," said Ino, not meeting Sakura's eyes. "Besides me, there's no one else with the mind control technique."

Sakura glanced at the packed bags sitting in her living room and turned back to Ino. "I understand. I'll tell Tsunade to cancel the vacation."

"You should go still. I'll be there as soon as I can, and Hinata will be there in three days."

"But…"

"You need a vacation. Relax and enjoy yourself," said Ino, patting Sakura's shoulder.

The pink haired kunoichi sighed. "Alright. I already packed, divided my hospital duties with the other trainees, and told my neighbors to get my mail...it'll be troublesome to change my mind last minute."

Ino smiled. "Exactly! Now, go and enjoy yourself."

"Good luck with the interrogation," Sakura managed to say before Ino rushed back to work. Sakura sighed, pulling her packed bag over her shoulder and leaving the apartment. She was already done with all her chores, so she decided to depart earlier. It didn't take her too long for her to get on the main trail.

Snow was sprinkled lightly over the branches and tops of the trees. It covered the dirt road and everything around the road. Everywhere was affected by the frost. It was a bizarre time to choose for vacationing, but it was also one of the few times in the year where there was less work.

Around noontime, when the sun's light hit against the snow in a blinding manner, Sakura decided to take a break and eat her packed lunch. She shook the snow off a boulder off a frozen creek and made a makeshift seat. Her lunch box consisted of a modest meal made out of rice and veggies.

As she brought a mouthful of rice to her lips, she wondered if the interrogation was going well. Sakura remembered the attack like it was yesterday, but she wondered what interrogating the suspect would yield. The dead were not going to come back and the culprit was obviously Orochimaru.

Above her, a flock of birds flew across the cloud-covered sky. Sakura tried to push away her depressing thoughts, but it was no use. Images of a chaotic Konoha appeared in her mind. It was also when she lost her team and became a solo ninja.

The pink-haired kunoichi sighed as she closed her lunchbox with a quiet click and packed away the plastic box back into her pack.

The rest of the trip was filled with random thoughts that generally involved the hospital and her patients. Once, she stumbled upon a family of snow bunnies, which made the girl smile.

During the late afternoon, it began to snow again. She thought of Naruto as the first snowflake landed on her nose. It was right before New Years. The letter on his door must have been read by now, unless he was sick and tired of her notes and tossed it away.

She wondered if he really did throw away her note. Along the way, she made a little a game. If she saw an uneven number of trees, then it meant Naruto ripped her note and thought she was weird for sending him notes even after he had asked her not to. If it was an even number of trees, then it meant he kept her note.

She wasn't sure how long she had travelled, but by the time the sun was setting, she could see the silhouette of a small village ahead of her. It was a modest village hidden amongst the trees, just like Konoha. As she entered the village gates, she was welcomed by a row of red lanterns strung along the main pathway.

There wasn't any snow on the lanterns, so she surmised someone had taken great care. The poor kunoichi took no more than two steps when a group of laughing children ran her way, all wearing fox masks. One of them managed to trip and fall flat on their face. The mask fell away, revealing a small boy.

"Are you okay?" asked Sakura, dusting the snow off his clothes as he got up. "It's dangerous to be wearing a mask so late at night." She picked up the fox mask. "You should wear this in the morning."

"No! It's the Fox Parade. All my friends are going to laugh at me if I don't wear my mask," declared the boy. He made an attempt to grab the mask by jumping and grabbing with his fingers, but Sakura only held it higher.

"Fox Parade? What's that and stay still," commanded Sakura, healing the small scratches on his face that were most likely going to bruise in a few hours.

The boy scrunched up his face. "Are you really an adult? The Fox Parade-the Kitsune no gyoretsu-is to celebrate the New Year!"

"I see," said Sakura, except Konoha never held a fox parade to celebrate the New Year. Given the association of foxes with the Kyuubi, Sakura figured celebrating with foxes was the last thing most people in her village would do. Once she was sure the boy was fine, she handed him back his mask. "Be careful, promise?"

"Yes, miss," said the boy as he held the mask carefully in his hands. He wore it back, once again concealing his boyish face. Then he ran and as he scampered off, he shouted loudly, "Yes, old hag!"

"...old hag," repeated Sakura with a sigh. She had half a mind to chase after the kid, except she decided against it because he was only a kid. Still, she couldn't help but walk in his direction. The boy's shocked features gave away his fear, and she laughed to herself as he darted into the crowd.

It was then she noticed the amount of people gathered for the parade. While most of the participants were children, she noticed a significant number of older aged people wearing masks. They were all heading towards the shrine, no doubt for celebrations. Sakura found a branch to sit upon as she watched them all walk.

The younger children often held hands with their parents. There were couples as well. Even though Sakura couldn't see their faces, she could sense it with the way they held each other's hands. She lost track of the time as she sat against the trunk of the tree and watched the people below.

At some point, her eyes fluttered shut but she could hear the soft shuffling of footsteps and the occasional laughter. There was a low murmur in the crowd that consisted of soft words exchanged between individuals. It was all lulling her to sleep.

She wondered if it would be okay to sleep here, even though her back would complain in the morning. Right now, it seemed like an impossible task to relocate to the inn. Even if there was a comfy bed waiting for her there.

She managed to drift off at some point in the night and was in the midst of dreaming about her old team when she heard a loud crash. Green eyes snapped open in shock. The kunoichi fought for balance on the slender branch.

A figure leapt from rooftop to rooftop, unbeknownst to the villagers who were still enjoying their fox parade. There was a second individual, who was much quicker and chasing after the first shadow. When the two individuals paused, the clouds parted and moonlight hit the first figure. She saw red clouds against a black backdrop, which immediately put her on alert. _Akatsuki?_ Here? Then just as she saw it, the two individuals were gone. Maybe she was dreaming?

Below her, no one seemed to have noticed there were two people jumping around their rooftops. It was also at that moment that Sakura finally lost her balance and fell against the snow-covered ground.

So much for telling the boy to be careful. She couldn't even keep herself out of trouble. Sakura sighed, deciding she definitely must have been half asleep to have been able to fall off of a tree. She stayed for half an hour longer before turning away. Her brain was in pain. She needed to sleep, no matter how much she wanted to enjoy the celebrations.

After asking a villager for directions, she made way for the inn. She cursed her luck when she realized it was a ten minute walk.

Sakura estimated it must have been around two in the morning. The red lanterns strung along the poles illuminated a pale light as she walked past them. She was able to see her surroundings.

The kunoichi covered her mouth as she yawned. Sleep was alluring and something she looked forward to after a long day of traveling. She walked quietly along the snow-covered path. Her boots disappeared into the snow every time she made a step.

She jumped a few times, to see what would happen. Nothing interesting occurred, except she managed to get snow _in_ her boots. Sighing, she resumed a more normal pace when she spotted a few drops of red-colored dye. Sakura froze. As she gave the red blemish in the snow a second glance, she realized it was no dye. It was fresh blood.

Judging from the brightness of red, she estimated the blood to have been less than an hour old. She looked around her surroundings. Besides the inn, all the other stores were closed.

But where did the blood come from?

She studied the blood and saw that it formed a trail towards the alleyway behind the inn. Her best guess was someone got injured, but it was hard to tell if that person was good or evil.

Frowning, she took a few steps forward all the while grabbing a kunai from the pouch strapped around her thigh. As quietly as the kunoichi could manage, she walked closer to the alleyway. From the corner of her eyes, she saw a dark silhouette positioned against the wall.

She swallowed and counted to three.

"Who are you?" she demanded, walking directly into the alleyway. A gasp escaped her lips at the sight of the pooling blood surrounding the individual. The left side of his chest was pierced by a katana. Despite having fingers pressed against the wound area, blood spilled freely.

Perhaps the most surprising element in the entire scene was the kitsune mask covering the ninja's face. She recognized it as the same one "Kitsune" wore.

It was the ANBU member from two weeks ago, the one who flippantly walked into Tsunade's office.


	3. The Fox Parade

Thanks everyone for the reviews! I'm glad last chapter satisfied most people...phew! On a separate note, I've only pre-written two chapters and I tend to write very slow...so sorry for the delay! However, I do have a copy of the story's outline conveniently shelved away somewhere in case I need it as reference…

* * *

"The fox is not a little orange puppy dog with doe eyes and a waggly tail. It's a disease-ridden wolf with the morals of a psychopath and the teeth of a great white shark."

Jeremy Clarkson

* * *

 **Chapter Three: The Fox Parade**

Sakura had been twelve years old for the first time.

The sound of steel cut through flesh and bone. Blood blossomed on Sasuke's dark shirt until a few drops of it inevitably fell onto the blades of grass, mixing with the dark green until it was all an ugly mess. Sasuke's dark expression as he stared at her and willed her to do _something_ was an image she had yet to forget. Despite the number of surgeries she had participated in since then, it did not change the fact that she could not do anything that day.

With the night being so late, the Uchiha was most likely in bed right now. Even if he was awake, he'd most likely have forgotten about the issue. It had been many years ago and in between that time, the Uchiha had encountered much worse situations _without_ Sakura's presence.

It felt surreal. This instance almost felt like one of her recurring nightmares, where she'd find one of her friends lying in a pool of their own blood while she was still her twelve year old self. Almost always, she'd be unable to do anything as she'd watch her friends die in front of her.

A wisp of frosty air numbed her cheeks, a cold reminder that she was not stuck in another one of her dreams and forced to watch her nightmares play out until she woke up. Whether or not that fact brought her relief was hard to tell, especially with the splatters of crimson in the snow. Kitsune had lost a huge amount of blood. With it being so cold and Sakura not knowing when the incident had occurred, there was a chance he had already passed away.

Sakura reasoned with herself. This ninja, despite being from the same village as her, was not someone she knew and, judging from his reaction of her on that day at the Hokage tower, was definitely not her friend. She scoffed and silently thought about what a horrible person she was. Thinking those thoughts did not make her feel better.

Taking a deep breath, the pink-haired kunoichi closed the distance between herself and the ANBU member. With the snow was painted red around him and the porcelain fox mask on his face, Kitsune looked like a fox yokai who had emerged directly from an old folklore.

She forced herself to look at the terrible wound on his chest where the katana had struck. From the sword's position, she couldn't tell if it hit bone, but only that it was lodged in deeply. _A bit too deep for her liking._

Regardless of whether or not he was dead or alive, she'd remove it for him. It was the least she could do since they were two people from the same village. It was terrible to be left in this state, especially since he was away from his friends and family. It reminded her of the memorial stone she saw Iruka-sensei visited every so often.

Sakura scolded herself for being so negative. She needed to see if he was alive first. Despite her resolve, her fingers trembled as they moved closer to the ANBU member's pale neck to feel for a pulse. The cold seeped in until she could feel it even in her bones. It was said that this year's winter was one of the coldest in the past decade.

The tips of her fingers were millimeters away from the vein on his neck when cold and wet fingers seized her wrist abruptly.

She flinched and instinctively pulled away, except the grip on her wrist did not loosen. There was a smear of blood on her wrist now, but she was far more concerned about the implications behind it.

 _Kitsune was awake._

Though he was probably in a tremendous amount of pain, Sakura could not stop the happiness from spreading in her chest. It was contagious, and she could not help the smile from appearing. Then, the smile was replaced with an incredulous look.

"You're awake? _How?_ "

His breaths came out ragged and pathetic sounding. Sakura wondered if he was trying to speak, but she couldn't hear with the mask in the way. She moved her hand up to remove the mask, but his gripe only tightened as sharp fingernails dug into her skin. Sakura frowned, noting that his fingernails were a bit _too_ sharp to be human.

Was it the effect of a ninjutsu? She remembered Kiba could do something similar, but she did not recall the Inuzaka mentioning having siblings.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a harsh "D-Don't." His voice sounded familiar somehow, but in between the festival music and blood in the snow, Sakura's brain was having a hard time recalling exactly who it was.

She frowned, but nodded. "I understand. I won't remove your mask, even if it would help you breathe better."

His fingers relaxed as his hand fell away from her wrist and dropped into the snow. Sakura took the opportunity to check his pulse by feeling the vein in his neck. It was extremely weak, but Sakura expected as much with the amount of blood lost. It would have been better if she could remove the mask, but given his stubbornness earlier, she'd have to work around it.

The katana was still lodged in his chest and would stay there until she did something about it. "I have to—I have to remove this at least, okay?"

As she waited for a response, she could hear the dull whispers of conversation made by the villagers. The mask made it difficult for her to tell whether Kitsune was still conscious, but she knew _the idiot_ was awake for certain when his hands suddenly grabbed the hilt of the blade and tugged at it. He let out a painful groan that was animalistic and frightening. She willed herself to remain calm, but her words came out harsh.

"Are you crazy? If the pain doesn't kill you, the blood loss will!" She grabbed his fingers as gently as she could as she tried to get his grip to loosen. He was surprisingly strong for a half-dead guy.

"...you...ne...leave...not...safe," he managed to say, but Sakura only frowned and remained in her spot.

"I'm not leaving you behind, so if you injure yourself further, you'll only make things worse for both of us. Got it?" she said. He wisely moved his hands away from the sword.

"You'll regret helping me, especially after I..." Kitsune paused as a heavy cough racked his lungs. He took a few moments to regain his composure. In a much more defeated sounding tone, he continued with (what sounded as indignant to Sakura) "after I told you politely to leave. I won't thank you nor will I appreciate you risking your life for me."

If he wasn't injured, that comment might have earned him a well-earned whack to the head or at the very least, a glare. While Sakura was not going to do either, she imagined doing it in her mind. She did have a terrible anger while growing up.

"I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt," she said before touching his forehead with her index and middle fingers laced with chakra, not feeling as sorry as she would have before his remark. It would soothe his pain slightly by numbing his senses a little, but it wouldn't be enough to make him fall unconscious, where he'd be possibly vulnerable to whoever had harmed him in the first place. His skin was warmer than she expected given the weather, which worried her. Was he running a fever?

She touched the wound area with her fingers and ensured the sword wouldn't move too much by keeping it still with chakra. He winced but said nothing. Sakura had to give him credit for being so quiet. Even the toughest of ninjas started bawling whenever she had to remove a weapon or apply stitches.

Her eyes fell upon the katana once more. While she was relieved it had not pierced any vital organs, it hit bone. That was always hard to heal, and if it was not handled properly, he could have complications later down the road.

Gathering chakra in her fingertips, she grabbed the blade and slowly pulled. As she did so, she focused on stopping the blood flow near the wound area . She was glad it wasn't an arrow wound because there were generally more complications to deal with, including fragmented arrow pieces getting stuck.

As she set the katana on the ground, she kept one hand on the wound. The other hand was used to rip a strip the scarf off her neck, which she wrapped around his chest. It might have been a trick of the light, but it seemed like the wound had healed a lot faster than she expected. It was only when the bandages were tightly tied around his chest that she let herself rest. Fresh blood coated her hands.

"You still need medical attention. I've only-

Kitsune placed a hand over her mouth and tugged her besides the wall. He earned a glare from the pink-haired kunoichi, but his attention was directed towards the street where the alleyway was located. Moments later, she could hear pounding footsteps in the distance. It was during a festival, so it was natural there would be a lot of foot traffic. Judging from Kitsune's stiff stance, he did not agree with her opinion.

"We need a disguise," he said after the footsteps faded. She raised an indignant eyebrow. The kunoichi was still wondering how he was able to get back on his feet so fast after she pulled a sword out of his chest. If she mentioned this to any of her colleagues, they'd definitely laugh at her and claim that she was making it up. Kitsune shook her shoulders gently. "Are you listening to me?"

Sakura nodded as she slipped on a sly smile. "You're recognizable by your mask so why don't you-"

"I'm not taking it off," was his calm response. He placed a hand on the injured part of his chest and leaned against the wall. _Oh, so_ now _he remembers he should be feeling pain._

The girl frowned, but decided against voicing her frustrations on an injured ninja. Taking a few steps forward, she spotted the tailend of a group walking towards the main part of the village. They were all dressed for the festival, as she had expected.

She stared at their masks and their colorful outfits as an idea came to her. She turned to Kitsune, who was still catching his breath by the wall. "Let's use the transformation jutsu to disguise ourselves as villagers attending the fox parade. We just need a fox mask and a kimono."

"...okay," he said, though not moving from the position he was in.

The transformation jutsu was a simple one that Sakura accomplished easily even when she was an academy student. She expected Kitsune to be able to perform it flawlessly as an ANBU member. She went through the hand seals and changed her appearance. She wore a decorative fox mask and pink kimono. However, as she turned over to Kitsune, he looked the same.

"...I can't do the transformation…I mean, I can't use my chakra, " he said. Then Kitsune pointed at his chest. "It still hurts. Right here."

His tone felt off somehow, in a way that Sakura could only feel but not fully explain. It was almost as if he was hesitant about using the jutsu, but that made little sense.

Did he even try to use it? Sakura had been preoccupied with her own hand seals, but there was little reason for her to doubt his words and he _was_ terribly injured.

"Don't worry, I'll grab you the things you need. In the meantime, stay here." As soon as the words left her mouth, she grew paranoid. Maybe he claimed to be unable to use his chakra for the purpose of leading her away from him. He had been reluctant for her to treat his wounds, so it wasn't as if she was blindly guessing.

He nodded and did not say anything. That did not help her suspicions.

Sakura stared hard at him. Though she was met by the dark eyes of the kitsune mask, she wondered what sort of expression he was making. "Promise me."

After a brief silence, he said, "...okay."

"...A promise is a promise," she said, as she wondered if she would have been able to read his expression even if she was able to see his eyes. Maybe, his eyes would be like the battle-hardened eyes of the ninjas she'd seen. She could not tell what was going through his head. He still did not move, so she did not either.

"Stop wasting time." The tone he used was as cold as the snowflakes drifting down from the sky. She breathed out and watched as a wisp of smoke evaporated before her. The snow had begun to fill her footprints. She looked at him, but all she saw was the fox mask with its empty hollow eyes.

Words sat on the throat, but just like her footprints, they too disappeared. The kunoichi turned away and leapt onto the roof.

From a distance, she could hear angry voices. People ran with torches. Her heart skipped a beat. Time _really_ was of the essence. Using the snow on the rooftop, she wiped the blood off her hands. Then her mouth. She had not forgotten how Kitsune had grabbed her earlier.

The kunoichi did not dare to stop moving until she was in view of the stalls she had seen earlier on her way to the alleyway. There were dozen of stands, but most of them were empty by now. It _was_ getting pretty late after all. However, she spotted a light near the end of all the empty stalls. When she got closer, she saw an array of masks still on display. Not wasting any time, she grabbed a fox mask off the stand and stood in front of the seller.

"How much?"

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Kitsune was in the same spot, except he had fallen over and was sweating heavily. She jumped down from the rooftop and set the mask and outfit she had found for him on a dry piece of the wall.

"Are you okay—

She froze as her eyes flickered to the stains of dark blood on the katana. As a medic, she was taught to always be with her pouch of medical supplies. Taking out a poison detection kit, she tested a sample of his blood. It came out positive. Sakura closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. How did she fail to realize?

"I already know. The person who stabbed me laughed and said the sword is poisoned. I heal most wounds quickly, so this would be one way to keep me injured," said Kitsune in a tired voice.

"And you decided to keep this from me?" Sakura was a _healer_. If he had vital information regarding his health, he should not be hiding it from her.

Slowly, he pushed himself so that he was standing his feet again. "It isn't relevant to our escape. I can ask a medic to make an antidote once we're back in Konoha. You wouldn't be able to make one right now without the proper ingredients."

"You don't trust me," she accused, as she let out a frustrated sigh. "Nevermind. You should change into these." Sakura handed him both the mask and kimono. "Change into these."

"...I won't thank you for this either," he said, very quietly and with none of the coldness from earlier. "But thank you."

"You just contradicted yourself," she said, which seemed to cause him to mumble something under his breath. He attempted to swipe the clothing from her, but she pulled it away in time.

"Wait. Your hands are bloody. You're going to get blood all over it, and it'll be obvious you're the one they're looking for," she sighed. Sifting through her backpack, she grabbed a cloth and wetted it with water from her water bottle. Then she grabbed both his hands and wiped away the dried blood. As she was cleaned his hands, she noticed he wasn't resisting anymore like earlier.

Despite his claims on being able to heal wounds easily, she noticed his hands were rough with callouses and lined with small scars he most likely had obtained from handling kunais and shurikens.

After checking his hands over once more, she handed the clothes to him, but he simply held it in his hands and did nothing with them. "...turn around, pervert."

Sakura could feel warmth on her cheeks, but she turned to face the wall.

"Tell me when you're done." She trained her eyes on the bit of snow that was sitting right below the rooftop. The kunoichi could hear the soft shuffling of clothing before he finally said, "I'm done."

She turned around in relief and looked at him. The kimono looked like it was made for someone who weighed a bit more, but it would have to do. Kitsune had also switched to the more festive mask. In his hands was the other mask.

"Give that to me. I'll put it in my backpack," she said, taking it from his hands before he could disagree. She almost expected him to protest, but he handed it to her without question.

She packed his bloodied clothes so as to not leave a trail. Holding out a hand, she helped Kitsune back up on his feet. He was still leaning heavily onto her, but at least he seemed less suspicious than if he was still wearing his shirt, which had a big gaping hole in it.

Together, the two slowly walked out of the alleyway and onto the streets. The fox parade was beginning to die down, but there was a sufficient amount of people around that made it easy enough for them to blend in.

Kitsune was walking normally now, though she could tell from holding his hand that his pulse was weak still. Beads of sweat rolled down his neck as proof of how painful it was for him to keep up with appearances. She sighed. She hadn't been given any details about his mission or who to watch out for. It was hard for her to help given how little she knew.

There were a couple of times the two received unwanted attention, but in the two times someone openly commented about them, it was on how sweet the two looked as a couple. Sakura pretended not to have heard, but it was a relief to know they weren't being found out.

As they neared the entrance gates, she could hear the guards suddenly shout.

"Stop!"

She felt her heart skip a beat. Were they found out? She could hear approaching footsteps and immediately reached for the kunai strapped around her thigh. Any moment, she expected a guard to grab her by the shoulder. Instead, the man stopped in front of the mischievous boy she helped heal from earlier.

"Your mother is looking for you kid. It's about time to go home," said the guard.

The boy frowned. "I don't care. She can't tell me what to do." Before the guard could react, the boy turned on his heels and fled in the opposite direction. That was when Kitsune's hand loosened around hers. He dashed off with lighting speed towards the child.

"Let me go!" The boy shouted at Kitsune, who was holding him in a tight grip on the shoulder. He tried to fight back against the ninja, banging his fists on Kitsune's stomach. That was when Sakura ran to them, concern all over her face.

"Don't hit—" She froze as the guard walked over.

Kitsune pushed the boy gently over to the guard. "You shouldn't worry your mother, kid."

In response, the boy glared at Kitsune. "Who are you? I never heard your voice before."

Sakura eyes flickered to the guard. The expression in his eyes told her he seemed to notice this important fact as well. Around them, the sounds of drums droned on in the distant backdrop of a snowy village.


	4. Petals In the Wind

I'm not sure why, but this was a much easier chapter to write. (Then again, it's probably because this was one of the planned chapters I decided on early on in my initial outline of the story.) So, faster update than usual! In this chapter, we get to see the story from Kitsune's point of view.

Once again, thank you for all the reviews!

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 **Chapter Four: Petals in the Wind**

Why had Kitsune acted so irresponsibly and attracted a guard's attention?

It was only a kid who was late getting back home. Neither the boy's life or livelihood was at stake. As the kunoichi hurried her steps, she couldn't help but look at Kitsune's face to see what kind of expression he had. Of course, the only expression she could see was the grin painted on the fox mask.

"Are you still getting in trouble?" Sakura took off her mask and held it in one hand. Placing the other hand on the boy's shoulder, she kneeled down until she was at eye-level with him, hoping her appearance would be enough to steal the guard's attention away from Kitsune. She gave the boy a knowing stare. "This big sister can see everything."

The boy looked away with puffy and red cheeks. "Hmph, I didn't get hurt after that!" To show he was telling the truth, he rolled up the sleeves on his arms and revealed both his arms and legs. He gave her a triumphant grin, as if he had already won.

The guard also kneeled down and checked for any other wounds the boy might have gotten. The skin on his arms and legs were all thankfully unmarred. "You saw this girl earlier? What time, Kota?"

The child scratched his cheek and stared upwards into the sky, tilting his head as he did so. "Um...I don't remember, but it was before it started snowing."

"It was around seven. My friend and I were walking around the stalls then," said Sakura, as she stood up and walked back to Kitsune.

The smile slipped off her face when she noticed drops of blood near the ground. A line of blood marred Kitsune's left hand and seemed to originate from where his chest and arm aligned.

As casually as she could, she looped their arms together to hide the stained part of his sleeve. She could feel Kitsune freeze at her initial touch before he relaxed.

Luckily, the guard looked to be preoccupied with lecturing the boy. It was only after he realized the two were still there that he bowed in both their direction. "Thank you for helping my cousin earlier. Kota-he-disregards the worry his mother has for him."

"She nags me too much," said the boy, glaring daggers at the guard. His older cousin ruffled his hair and pulled him into a hug in return, which only caused the boy to grumble and mutter something inaudible under his breath.

"We should leave," said Sakura as she tugged Kitsune towards the entrance gates. He was leaning on her again, so that told her he was probably in a lot of pain.

In her mind, she started counting. She didn't see any of the villagers outside the village before. If they got pass the gates, then they should be okay.

One...two...three…

"Leaving so late and in the snow? Which village are you from? If you don't mind our small house, you can stay over at our place tonight." The guard's voice forced her to freeze in her step.

Sakura hugged Kitsune's arm tighter on impulse. More snow had fallen on the path. The guard's intentions seemed kind and noble, but right now, she was cursing him in her mind.

Not taking his offer might seem suspicious, but if she accepted it, she might as well have killed Kitsune herself back in the alleyway. Thankfully, he chose to speak at this moment.

"I promised to return an hour ago to my mother, but my friend was preoccupied with looking at the decorations at the festival." His voice sounded much more casual and when spoken in his manner, it almost sounded like someone she knew...Kitsune squeezed her hand, as if willing her to respond.

Sakura understood immediately and gave him a sheepish look. "Sorry, I got carried away, but everything looked so cute. Too bad I couldn't afford much."

Kitsune pulled something from his other sleeve. It was a small hairpin, decorated with fireflies and a small pearl. Turning so that the guard and his cousin could only see the right side of his body, he lifted his hands to her face and reached behind to tie her hair into a simple ponytail with a piece of cloth he had conjured up from his sleeve. In fact, it looked like it used to belong to part of his sleeve. Then, taking the hairpin, he slipped it through where the hair was tied.

In a soft voice, he said "I got it for you when you weren't looking because I thought it'd look nice on you."

The boy acted as if his eyes had been burned out by the sun. He covered both of his eyes with his hands and quickly sped off in the other direction screaming things like "gross!"

The guard looked apologetic as he bowed. "S-Sorry, he can be insensitive. It was nice meeting you." Then he turned and shouted, "Kota, come back here!"

Sakura was vaguely aware that both the guard and boy were long gone, but she remained frozen like a popsicle in her spot. Kitsune's words were pure lies. She didn't even see him until after he was injured.

However, that did not change the fact that her cheeks were unusually warm. She told herself it was the early signs of frostbite and reached behind to remove the hairpin so she could return it to Kitsune. Guys did not use hairpins. If he had a hairpin he bought, then it was most likely going to be given away to a girl.

He grabbed her hand to stop her. "That's fine. You can keep it since you're already wearing it. It looks nice on you."

She looked away when he said it looked nice on her, suddenly feeling self conscious. Her stupid cheeks were not obeying her when she said not to blush.

Kitsune released her hand. "Just keep it. I was still thinking about whether or not I should give it to her."

"Do you have a crush?" teased Sakura. Before Kitsune could stop her, she removed the hairpin from her hair and placed it back in his hands. "You should give the gift as planned!"

"I wanted to use that hairpin to express my gratitude," insisted Kitsune, as he started walking behind her. He sounded grumpy as he tucked the hairpin away again.

"Gratitude?" She wondered what he meant by that.

"It's...a long story," he said and stopped at that, leaving her further confused.

Sakura gestured for him to stop walking. "Let's go over to that corner so I can check on your wound again." Once the two were surrounded by trees, she tugged at his robes.

"W-what?" he said, hugging his chest as he turned away protectively.

"I need to check on your wound. Stop working against me," she said as she pulled his hands away to pull away the robe. The wound had reopened again, but how? She clearly had healed the wound enough.

He pulled her hands away and readjusted his outfit. "We need to get away from here. I'll be fine."

Sakura wasn't sure if it was wise to question his decision, given how he reacted earlier when she was healing his wound. She watched as he walked. His gait was unbalanced. It was clear he was in pain. Taking a step forward, she wrapped her hand around his waist and forced him to lean on her for support.

To her surprise, he laughed. "T-that tickles!"

"As you said, we need to get away from here as soon as possible," she said, tugging him along. "Stop being so ticklish."

He waddled along, "I don't think I have a choice…"

"Then, if you don't want to be tickled to death, follow my every command on the way back to Konoha. Honestly, disobedient patients are very troublesome to deal with. I've had a lot of experience with your type so be prepared," said Sakura with a slight huff, earning her a soft chuckle from Kitsune. The two descended down a long path that would take them towards the foot of the mountain.

She was certain she had crossed it twice as fast during her initial trip to the village, yet the end of the trail seemed so far away right now. For a long portion of the trip, the two were quiet. Kitsune seemed like he needed the focus, given his injury. Beads of sweat gathered around his forehead and neck. His breathing was also uneven too.

She offered to take another look at him, but he declined in a way that made it hard for her to react. It was weird, but Kitsune seemed irritable whenever she tried to help him. Otherwise, he acted normally and with less hostility towards her.

After walking in silence for some time, he decided to ask her a question. "Ninja your age generally do not become medics. What made you choose that path?"

She laughed internally at his question, having been asked that many times. Some of them had been less than polite, with people asking if she chose to be a medic because she was not as good of a fighter than the other ninja in her generation.

"It's a very simple answer so people always ask if there's more," Sakura said as she caught a snowflake in her hand.

"The truth is I'm scared that when I encounter situations like you, I'd only be able to watch you die and make some stupid promise like I'll avenge you." She watched the snow melt into water on her palm as another snowflake drifted onto her hand again.

"Stupid?"

"Once people die, they do not come back, not even if you avenge them," said Sakura as she stepped through a thick patch of snow. She was telling it to the wrong guy, but she knew Sasuke would never listen to someone like her.

"Ninja your age generally do not become ANBU. What made you choose that path?"

She wondered if he would allow her to change the focus onto him, but thankfully, he did. "It just...happened this way, I guess. Like you, I'm also scared that I'll only be able to see the people I care about die. I don't want to experience it again, so I decided to do something for once."

Sakura laughed as she stepped over a large boulder. "We're having a heartfelt conversation even though we barely know each other."

"Then maybe we can get to know each other more," said Kitsune, who slowly maneuvered his way around the boulder instead. "I-I mean, as friends."

"Sure," said Sakura, as she waited for Kitsune to catch up to her before she started walking again.

The two continued walking further, but the snow had only started to become more heavy. Pretty soon, the cold seeped through Sakura's jacket. She could only imagine how much colder it was for Kitsune, who was in a thin festive outfit not meant for long use.

"Are you okay?" she asked, grabbing him. That was enough for him to topple onto her as he fell unconscious. She panicked and looked around, finally noticing a hut in the distance.

Seeing as how the two were far enough away from the village, she deemed the hut a safe enough place to enter. Then again, it wasn't as if the kunoichi had much choice in the situation. She needed to get Kitsune to a warm place before he got frostbite.

She knocked, but there was no answer. When she turned the doorknob, she realized the door was unlocked. Inside, there was nobody there so she set Kitsune on a chair.

It wasn't the best arrangement, but it was better than being outside in the snowy storm. She grabbed his bloody clothes from earlier and used it as a blanket for Kitsune. The blood smelled, but it was better than freezing to death.

As she began to drift off, a hand clawed her shoulder. "My, my, what do we have here?"

* * *

Despite his attempts to stay awake on his trip down the mountain with Sakura, Naruto drifted off at some point and could not remember anything afterwards, except for a vague realization that he was being pulled along.

In his dream, he was six again and even younger than the ungrateful boy he had met back in the village. He was standing on a wooden bridge built upon a quiet creek. In front of him and at the end of the bridge, a stone path stretched itself for miles until he could see a shrine at the very end. Rows and rows of sakura trees were planted along the path. The pink petals spilled upon protruding tree roots and thick green grass.

Wherever he looked, an abundance of sakura trees greeted his sight. Everything looked so much taller at his height. He felt lost in this world, which while was very beautiful was also very empty. Digging his heels into the dirt, he ran through rows and rows of trees. Everything looked the same. Eventually, he closed his eyes and furiously ran towards the shrine, the only building in sight.

In doing so, he tripped upon a tree root and fell face first into a mouthful of grass. He groaned. A storm of petals swept over him, blinding him momentarily. When he could see again, he saw six year old Haruno Sakura standing at the center of the path, dressed in a soft kimono.

Her hair was tied up by a red ribbon. She smiled and spoke words he could not hear from his distance. Naruto pushed himself off the ground with the palm of his hands and ran to her.

The rocks crumbled beneath his feet as he fell backwards involuntarily. As he looked back at the pink haired kunoichi, she had gained pitch black eyes and orange fire all over her body. She smirked at him and her resemblance to the nine-tailed fox was uncanny.

The words that came out of her mouth were masculine sounding and caused the entire world to tremble. Some of the trees uprooted themselves and fell into the gaping hole that had appeared.

You have no one. Why don't you die already? When you do, I will finally be free.

More of the stone path crumbled, forcing Naruto to run back to the bridge. When he was one step away from the bridge, the stone beneath his feet cracked. He mustered all the strength he had available and leapt blindly towards the bridge.

The six-year old version of Naruto landed painfully on the side of his stomach and watched as the entire world was seemingly swallowed by darkness. Only the bridge and creek remained.

He sat down and hugged his bruised knees. He felt trapped again and even though he had felt it hundreds of time, it still affected him just as much every time. Pressing his face into his knees, he wondered what he had done to deserve this. Suddenly, a hand reached out and pulled at his arm. He flinched involuntarily as images of the demonic girl on fire passed through his mind.

Had the fox demon finally broke through the protective barriers?

"I need to check on your wound. Stop working against me."

When he opened his eyes, he saw the current Sakura. The hairpin he gave him still sat in that ugly ponytail he tied up during a moment's panic, causing his heart to skip a beat. She stared at him and sighed. "Honestly, disobedient patients are very troublesome to deal with."

The words felt reminiscent. It felt as if he heard them before, but he just couldn't remember where.

Kneeling down, the pink-haired kunoichi treated to his wounds with a gentle touch before pulling him off his feet. She took his hand and pulled him along the bridge. He widened his eyes as she stepped off the bridge. Instead of falling into the darkness, however, she stepped onto a path that was formed with the remaining sakura petals.

She smiled at him.

"You're a big boy now, so you shouldn't cry over something like this. Something as inevitable as death."

Naruto froze, a part of him knowing instinctively that those words did not originate from her. When he looked up at the kunoichi, she was gone and in his hands was a handful of petals. The petals flew out of his hand and down the path. He turned to face a very much alive Jiraiya.

"Idiot, you're many years too early before you think you can follow me to this place. Get out of here."

The man grabbed Naruto and threw him across the plane of darkness where he fell roughly into a field of petals. The sky illuminated by the moon and overarching clouds lit the entire field with a soft glow.

* * *

Naruto woke up in a small room. Moonlight spilled through from the windows, which were covered by thick spider webs. He sat up immediately. Whatever had made those webs put him on caution.

His mask slipped off his face sometime when he was asleep and was tangled between the sheets. He grabbed it immediately and placed it back on his face.

The door to the room opened as he finished tying the mask. An eight-legged woman crawled into the room, reminiscent of Orochimaru and his cronies.

He was normally unaffected by spiders, but even Naruto felt discomfort while watching the woman with way too many arms. A part of him realized that some of those arms were probably legs, but he was not keen on following that train of thought.

She stopped at his bedside with a tray of food carried using two of her left arms. "The boy's awake. You must be hungry?"

She set the tray down on the bed. It contained a bowl of porridge, which Naruto half-expected to be poisonous and filled with bugs. He didn't dare take his eyes off the woman for too long. He swallowed and realized how dry his throat was. "There was someone else with me."

Be extra careful about the forest around the village. He wondered if the warning he heard was related to this woman.

"The pink-haired girl who carried you into my home? Yes, she's here."

Naruto nodded. "Is she okay?"

Instead of responding, the spider woman crawled closer until she was inches away from his face and pointed at his mask. "Boy, do you always keep that mask on?"

"Yes," he said, trying his hard not to flinch away. He could smell the woman's vile breath. At the very least, the woman didn't seem malicious. For now.

"That means my apprentice hasn't seen your face either?" asked the woman.

"Apprentice?" he frowned, grateful that he was wearing a mask so that the woman would not see the confusion on his face.

"In exchange for the antidote for your injuries, the girl promised to stay and become my apprentice," said the spider woman, as if it was perfectly normal.

Naruto swung his legs off the bed and stood. He could barely stand for a second before his legs wobbled and he was forced to grip the mattress for support. The ninja fell to the floor in a very unmanly fashion.

He heard laughter from above as he miserably tried to pull himself back up the bed. "Your life was hanging by a thread. Perhaps you shouldn't waste the girl's effort by injuring yourself."

"Where is she now?" he asked when he was finally sitting back on the mattress. Had the poison been that lethal to weaken him to such a sad and sorry state? The nine-tailed fox granted him rapid healing and immunity to most poisons.

The spider woman pointed outside his window. "The girl is out gathering herbs for the last portion of the boy's treatment. The poison hasn't completely left your body yet."

He rubbed his forehead as he realized the painful headache he had ever since he received the sword wound had returned with a vengeance. The tray of food was even less appealing than before. "How long is she to be your apprentice?"

"For life," said the spider woman.

"You can't do that. She has a home and a family," said Naruto. Somewhere in him, he hoped Sakura had chosen to run away while gathering the herbs meant for his antidote.

Regardless of whether or not he'd be okay on his own, he did not want to drag another innocent down with him. Unfortunately, his prayers were left unheard when he heard the sound of a door click open from somewhere in the hut.

"That'll be her. Finish eating your meal and leave the tray out," said the woman with a laugh as she crawled out the room and shut his door.

Through the walls, he could vaguely hear a conversation take place. The creepy spider lady told whoever had walked in that he had woke up and was an ungrateful brat. Before the woman could finished her sentence, he heard pounding footsteps before the door to his room swung open with a loud creak.

It was Sakura, who he noticed was no longer wearing the hairpin. For some reason, that disappointed him, but then he realized he had the hairpin now. Naruto only had his neighbor's words that his stalker had been a girl. For all he knew, the old woman was tricking him. He sighed internally. The hairpin looked really nice on Sakura.

He cleared his throat and tried to speak, but he wasn't sure what to say. Thanks for selling yourself to a creepy spider lady?

He settled for what his ANBU captain might have said to him back in his early days. "You're being reckless. Why did you promise her-" Whatever he had to say was cut off when she threw herself in his direction and wrapped her arms around him.

"I-I thought you were going to die," she said, carrying the scent of fresh snow with her. "Why didn't you tell me something was wrong? We could have taken a break."

It was distracting for her to be so close, so he thought of Jiraiya in a bikini. Then he stopped because that image proved to be even more distracting. "It was snowing too much."

"So?" She let go and the expression on her face had morphed from concerned to angry. "I told you not to hide any relevant facts you have about your health. Do you not trust me?"

"Clearly, it was the right choice because you took us to a spider den," he remarked.

She looked exasperated. "It was the only building I saw at the time and you were freezing to death. What else should I have done? Let you freeze to death?"

"Yes, I would have been fine. I don't need your help nor do I want it," he said, except that was a blatant lie. He most likely would have died, judging by the extent of how much the poison had weakened him even now.

"Would you really?" Her eyes were cold, and he could tell he had hurt her with his words. Naruto felt bad, but never asked for any of her help. The porridge was getting cold, so he picked it up. It didn't seem abnormal and Sakura didn't seem to have any issues with it.

"I'll find a way to get the spider woman to change her mind," he said.

She just sighed and sounded disappointed. "Just finish your food and leave the tray outside. I'll come by and pick it up." Without waiting for a response, she walked out and closed the door.

After that, Naruto did not see Sakura for the next two days. Every time he woke up though, there would be a tray of food on the floor besides his bed. It was mostly filled with porridge, but occasionally, there'd be crackers and dried prunes. He wondered where the food had been obtained.

At night, he would hear the main door opening. He guessed Sakura returned then, but between his constant sleeping and fatigue, it was hard to tell. On the third day, he realized he was better enough that he could leave the bed. Right when he walked out his room, he was met with the presence of the spider lady.

"You can leave once you can make your way out that door," she said as she munched on dried fish.

Naruto gave her a wary glare in response as he leaned upon the door frame for support. He hadn't felt this bad in years. If he had a choice, he would not have accepted the mission. "I'm not leaving without the girl."

"It'll be better this way, won't it?" She crawled closer to him, tossing the remnants of the fish on the floor. That was when he noticed the dead bugs that were littered all over the floor. He definitely could not leave Sakura here.

He narrowed his eyes. "She should be back home."

"You're being cruel, when the girl loves you so much," said the woman.

"W-What?" Naruto coughed out, groaning because he could feel the spike of pain coming from his wound as he did so. He placed a hand over his chest and took steady breaths. What had Sakura told this woman?

"She told me all about her unrequited love, how she was just like me in my past so I took pity upon her and didn't kill you two on the spot," said the spider woman.

"Unrequited love?" he asked.

"Don't play coy. I saw the way you rejected her a couple of days ago. If you truly care for this girl, why not let her go if you do not feel the same way? It was just like...this for me too," said the spider woman, who was not using a condescending tone like before.

She looked like a sad and abandoned creature and for once, Naruto felt pity for her rather than caution. She must have mistaken their relationship, either by her own assumptions or by Sakura's words.

Naruto noticed the tray was still sitting next to his door. So he was right in his suspicions that Sakura was in charge of cleaning the empty dishes and preparing his food.

"What...if I do feel the same way?" He felt terrible for lying to the woman, but there wasn't anything else he could use right now.

"Nonsense, you pushed her away," said the spider woman. Naruto wondered if she had listened in other instances, like when he was asleep and in the middle of a nightmare. Uzumaki Naruto was a terribly private person. He didn't know how to feel about a stranger listening to his most inner thoughts, but he forced his discomfort away. There were more important matters at hand, such as Sakura's freedom.

"That doesn't mean I don't care about her," argued Naruto, in what he hoped was a strong and determined tone.

The spider lady used one of her eight arms to hit Naruto's head. "Then you are an idiot, but at least you're willing to admit your fondness for her!"

He was so shocked he could not respond immediately, considering he still was not used to the idea of someone having more than two arms. "Then, will you let her go once I'm well enough to leave?"

"How do I know you really love her and aren't just lying to me?" asked the spider woman. She eyed him with a suspicious look as she crawled closer to him. Her face hovered over his mask, as if she was trying to see past the porcelain. It was extremely uncomfortable to say the least, but Naruto remained still for the duration of her inspection.

"B-because my love comes straight from my heart," he said, using one of the lines said by the main characters in Jiraiya's perverted books. He cringed internally, but he could not think of anything else better to say because no one had ever taught him what to say. Jiraiya was not exactly the type of mentor he could ask advice for when it was not related to training.

"That sounds pathetic. You'll have to try better if you want her to go home." A couple of her fingers touched the porcelain mask. "Why do you wear this?"

"My face is ugly and not worth looking at," he said as he quickly ran through the available ideas in his head.

The spider woman cackled, the smell of fish breath wafting through the mask. "My apprentice must really love you then!"

How could he convince this woman that he loved Sakura when he didn't? There was one way, but he wasn't even sure if it would work. Whatever. He would try.

Taking a deep breath, he took out the hairpin from before and held it up so that the spider woman could see it.

"I was planning to ask for her hand in marriage with this."


End file.
